Great tits in the UK, where birdfeeders are common, have developed longer beaks than their Dutch counterparts.

Over 150 years after Darwin’s observations of Galapagos finches, birds’ beaks are still capturing the attention of genetics researchers. In a new Science study, scientists have for the first time identified genetic differences between great tits in the UK and the Netherlands, and linked these genetic variants to longer beak lengths in the UK. The short timeframe for these changes—British great tits had shorter beaks than they do today as recently as the 1970s— points to the relatively recent proliferation of garden birdfeeders as a likely factor. We spoke with Mirte Bosse, one of the paper’s lead authors, to learn more.